“It was easy. There were fewer prison guards because of the storm, so I took advantage of that to steal the keys from the man on watch. I grew up in the harsh red-light district, so I’m confident in my sticky fingers! As for my magic, I went to the separate building where Defi was and threatened him to release it. Thanks to Defi being such a good boy, there was only one guard, so security was lax. Well, it was unexpected that he resisted, but when I took the guard hostage and threatened him, he easily used his release on me. I’ve gotten stronger from the harsh training at the Sempli Convent. With a surprise attack, I can even defeat a powerful opponent!” Master Robin kept talking without any overt hostility in his voice.
“So why did you also drag Defi all the way here?” Lord Nazel asked Master Robin while observing the bound Defi.
“Because I need him to escape Desnim. He was being disobedient, so I ended up restraining him. But if I take another hostage, like this beautiful woman here, he’ll listen to what I tell him.” Master Robin glanced at Mrs. Holly. “She’s apparently the baby’s wet nurse, but a young, beautiful wet nurse also gets me going.”
I was speechless. His thoughts were as vulgar as always.
I was worried about her, and it looks like he had his eye on Mrs. Holly after all.
A cold aura was also emanating from Mister Henry behind me. As he was a devoted husband, he must have been infuriated.
I calmed my nervous heart and observed everyone in order.
It looks like Master Robin doesn’t know about Defi’s absolute release. If he did, he wouldn’t have left him as is when he can remove his own restraints. If we have one advantage, that’s it.
We might be able to somehow capture Master Robin, and even if that proved too difficult, if we bought some time, I believed that the rest of the search party would eventually come running.
If we can surround him, not even Master Robin should be able to get away. He was standing right next to Solis and looked at Lord Nazel with triumphant, challenging eyes.
“Well, anyway. Nazelbart, you can’t act with your son held hostage, can you?” Master Robin had a cheerful smile as he took out a knife from his breast pocket and pointed it at Solis. “If you value your son’s life, you’ll obey my orders.” He grinned and seemed convinced that Lord Nazel couldn’t defy him.
Lord Nazel and I were shocked when we saw a blade turned against our dear son.
What a despicable man! How could he do something so horrible?
“P-Please stop! What has that boy even done?” Mrs. Holly, still restrained, looked pale as she pleaded with Master Robin.
“It doesn’t matter what he did. The important thing is that he’s Nazelbart’s son,” Master Robin replied.
Lord Nazel’s expression turned even grimmer.
“Robin... Do you think you’ll be able to make it out of here safely on your own? You must realize that the other soldiers will soon come here and you won’t be able to escape.”
However, Master Robin didn’t look the least bit agitated.
“Hmm? That depends on you, doesn’t it? Sure, if you let your son die and attack me, I’ll get caught right here and now. But you can’t really do that, can you?” He was completely right.
“What do I need to do to save Solis?” Lord Nazel asked after some hesitation.
“Oh, you finally feel like listening to me?” Master Robin’s eyes lit up once he judged that his demands would be heard. “Let’s see. Don’t move from that spot, Nazelbart. No matter what happens to you, you’re forbidden from resisting at all! Even if you get stabbed, for example.”
Lord Nazel would probably be impervious to stabbing since I’d reinforced his body with my magic.
Poison doesn’t work on him anymore either, so I guess that Master Robin can’t actually harm Lord Nazel, can he? Incidentally, I’d also reinforced Solis’s body. He was currently a strong baby impervious to blades. But even so, I couldn’t help but feel worried about him.
It seemed that Lord Nazel thought the same, and he’d decided to prioritize his son’s safety over his own. He quietly looked at Master Robin.
“I understand, Robin, so turn your blade away from Solis. I won’t offer any resistance.”
“No way. I can’t feel safe, so I’m only going to release the baby after I use my magic on you.” Master Robin looked triumphant as he approached Lord Nazel and attempted to use his mental magic. Even the powerful Lord Nazel would likely fall into a daze if he was directly affected by Master Robin’s magic. Was Master Robin planning to take that opportunity to stab him?
Perhaps his plan isn’t just to hurt Lord Nazel but also to humiliate him.
When someone was asked a question in that mentally vulnerable state, they could be led to divulge their true feelings, just like that time I’d been under Master Robin’s magic. That was surely not Lord Nazel’s original intention.
Wh-What should I do?
Master Robin’s magic, which affected the mind, and mine, which physically reinforced things, were like oil and water.
“Take this, Nazelbart! Expose your embarrassing side and then fall by my hand!” Master Robin, convinced of his victory, raised his hand to use his magic. However, nothing happened. Solis’s loud cries were the only thing you could hear in the room.
Lord Nazel nonchalantly looked at Master Robin, who was starting to get shaken and was visibly flustered.
“What? My magic isn’t working? Nazelbart?” Master Robin tried using his magic again and again but kept failing, leaving him clearly confused.
Huh? Master Robin’s magic failed? Ever since getting out of the Sempli Convent, Master Robin had been using his magic without hesitation, and I’d never seen it fail. But if his magic isn’t working here... I found that odd and looked around the room, until I made eye contact with the bound Defi, who gave me a slight nod.
Ah! Is that what’s going on? Defi was using his absolute release to negate Master Robin’s magic and help Lord Nazel out. It seemed that this was his first time using his magic like this, as he looked truly nervous.
“Is this your only demand, Robin?” Lord Nazel asked undaunted.
“Ugh, what’s up with you? Why aren’t you spacing out? This is weird!”
“Give up. You didn’t notice what was around you—no, you didn’t even try to see, making this your defeat. You made the wrong decision.” Judging from his words, it seemed that Lord Nazel had deduced the role of Defi’s magic in this situation.
“Wh-What?! How dare you get so cheeky with me, damn Nazelbart?!”
“Now!” I cried. The panicked Master Robin wasn’t looking around him, so I took advantage of his carelessness to run to my crying son. “Solis!” I dove onto the couch where he was lying down and picked him up, while he was still being threatened by Master Robin’s knife.
“Ah, my hostage!” Master Robin panicked.
Then, together with the nearby Mrs. Holly, we slipped past him and rushed back to Torre. Master Robin hadn’t put fetters on Mrs. Holly, perhaps because he’d assumed she had no intention of resisting, or because he’d believed that he could somehow manage by using his magic. As a result, she had been able to stand up and escape.
“There, there, you must have been scared. Everything will be okay now,” I said as I hugged Solis tight. I was so scared, I was trembling, but losing my son was a million times scarier.